Month: September 2016

  • Potentially harmful chemicals widespread in household dust

    Household dust exposes people to a wide range of toxic chemicals from everyday products, according to a study led by researchers at Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH) at the George Washington University. The multi-institutional team conducted a first-of-a-kind meta-analysis, compiling data from dust samples collected throughout the United States to identify…

  • Technique could assess historic changes to Antarctic sea ice and glaciers

    Historic changes to Antarctic sea ice could be unraveled using a new technique pioneered by scientists at Plymouth University.It could also potentially be used to demonstrate past alterations to glaciers and ice shelves caused by climatic changes, a study published in Nature Communications suggests.The new method builds on an existing technique, also developed by Plymouth University…

  • Wetlands and agriculture, not fossil fuels could be causing a global rise in methane

    Research published today in the American Geophysical Union’s journal Global Biogeochemical Cyclesshows that recent rises in levels of methane in our atmosphere is being driven by biological sources, such as swamp gas, cow burps, or rice fields, rather than fossil fuel emissions.

  • 5 Species Most Likely to Survive a Climate Change Disaster

    Survival of the fittest. This basic tenet of evolution explains why the dodo bird no longer exists and why humans have opposable thumbs.Adaptation is key to survival, no matter how many fingers you’ve got. The ability to adjust to whatever conditions Mother Earth sends our way determines whether obstacles lead to extinction or to a new generation.Human-accelerated climate change is a…

  • 92% of the world's population exposed to unsafe levels of air pollution

    A new WHO air quality model confirms that 92% of the world's population lives in places where air quality levels exceed WHO limits. Some 3 million deaths a year are linked to exposure to outdoor air pollution. Indoor air pollution can be just as deadly. In 2012, an estimated 6.5 million deaths (11.6% of all…

  • Longest record of continuous carbon flux data is now publicly available

    Around the world — from tundra to tropical forests, and a variety of ecosystems in between — environmental researchers have set up micrometeorological towers to monitor carbon, water, and energy fluxes, which are measurements of how carbon dioxide (CO2), water vapor and energy (heat) circulate between the soil, plants and atmosphere. Most of these sites…

  • It May Not Cost You More To Drive Home In A Climate-Friendly Car

    It has been a common belief that low-emissions vehicles, like hybrids and electric cars, are more expensive than other choices. But a new study finds that when operating and maintenance costs are included in a vehicle's price, cleaner cars may actually be a better bet.

  • Could California's gridlock generate electricity for the grid?

    California is testing whether its heavy traffic can produce not just emissions and air pollution, but electricity. The state’s Energy Commission says it will spend $2 million to examine the potential of using piezoelectric crystals embedded under asphalt as a way to send the energy created by moving cars to the grid.

  • Fate of turtles and tortoises affected more by habitat than temperature

    Habitat degradation poses a greater risk to the survival of turtles and tortoises than rising global temperatures, according to new research.More than 60 per cent of the group are listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered, because they are being traded, collected for food and medicine…

  • Soil modeling to help curb climate change

    Soil is a major carbon pool, whose impact on climate change is still not fully understood. According to a recent study, however, soil carbon stocks and could be modelled more accurately by factoring in the impacts of both soil nutrient status and soil composition. Determining the volume of carbon dioxide efflux from soil is important…